NUSES is a space mission scheduled for launch in late 2026 into a Sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit at 550 km altitude. During its three-year nominal lifetime the satellite will test innovative methods for observing low-energy cosmic and gamma rays, astrophysical neutrinos, and for monitoring space-weather phenomena and lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere–magnetosphere couplings. Two complementary payloads are on board: Terzina, an optical Cherenkov telescope for extensive air showers, and Ziré, a particle detector covering an energy range from a few MeV up to hundreds. To extend Ziré’s sensitivity to lower energies, the Low-Energy Module (LEM) has been developed.The LEM is a compact (10 (Formula presented) 10 (Formula presented) 10 cm3) particle spectrometer capable of measuring electrons from 0.1 to 7 MeV and protons from 3 to 50 MeV along the satellite orbit. A drilled plastic scintillator acts as an active collimator, vetoing off-axis tracks, while five silicon spectrometers, completed by a plastic calorimeter and lateral veto, provide event-by-event identification. This layout yields an angular resolution of about (Formula presented) for protons and an electron threshold below 30 keV, enabling operations in high-radiation regions such as the South Atlantic Anomaly and the inner Van Allen belt.By tracking variations in trapped-particle fluxes the LEM will investigate precipitation episodes linked to geomagnetic storms, solar flares, thunderstorms, and possible seismic precursors, thus contributing both to space-weather forecasting and to the validation of particle-acceleration and models of Magnetospheric–Ionospheric–Lithospheric Coupling. Preliminary simulations and laboratory tests confirm the feasibility of the design and its expected performance.
Design and performance of the Low-Energy Module for the Ziré instrument on the NUSES mission: A compact spectrometer for low-energy particles in space high-radiation environments / Abdullahi, Muhammd; Aloisio, Roberto; Arneodo, Francesco; Ashurov, Sindorjon; Atalay, Uygar; Barbato, Felicia C. T.; Battiston, Roberto; Bertaina, Mario; Bissaldi, Elisabetta; Boncioli, Denise; Burmistrov, Leonid; Cadoux, Franck; Cagnoli, Irene; Casilli, Elisabetta; Cortis, Daniele; Cummings, Austin; D'Arco, Martina; Davarpanah, Shideh; De Mitri, Ivan; De Robertis, Giuseppe; Giovanni, Adriano Di; Salvo, Andrea Di; Venere, Leonardo Di; Eser, Johannes; Favre, Yannick; Fogliacco, Sara; Fontanella, Giulio; Fusco, Piergiorgio; Garbolino, Sara; Gargano, Fabio; Giliberti, Mario; Guarino, Fausto; Heller, Mathieu; Ibrayev, Tengiz; Iuppa, Roberto; Knyazev, Artem; Krizmanic, John Francis; Kyratzis, Dimitrios; Licciulli, Francesco; Liguori, Antonio; Loparco, Francesco; Lorusso, Leonarda; Mariotti, Mosè; Mazziotta, Mario Nicola; Mese, Marco; Mignone, Marco; Montaruli, Teresa; Nicolaidis, Riccardo; Nozzoli, Francesco; Olinto, Angela; Orlandi, Donato; Osteria, Giuseppe; Palmieri, Pietro Antonio; Panico, Beatrice; Panzarini, Giuliana; Pattanaik, Diptiranjan; Perrone, Lorenzo; Lima, Herman Pessoa; Pillera, Roberta; Rando, Riccardo; Rivetti, Angelo; Rizi, Vincenzo; Roy, Abhijit; Salamida, Francesco; Sarkar, Ritabrata; Savina, Pierpaolo; Scherini, Viviana; Scotti, Valentina; Serini, Davide; Schledewitz, David; Siddique, Iqra; Silveri, Leandro; Smirnov, Aleksei; Alberto Torres Saavedra, Rodrigo; Trimarelli, Caterina; Zuccon, Paolo; Zugravel, Stefan C.. - In: ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH. - ISSN 0273-1177. - 77:1(2026), pp. 686-696. [10.1016/j.asr.2025.11.046]
Design and performance of the Low-Energy Module for the Ziré instrument on the NUSES mission: A compact spectrometer for low-energy particles in space high-radiation environments
Bissaldi, ElisabettaMembro del Collaboration Group
;Panzarini, Giuliana;Pillera, Roberta;
2026
Abstract
NUSES is a space mission scheduled for launch in late 2026 into a Sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit at 550 km altitude. During its three-year nominal lifetime the satellite will test innovative methods for observing low-energy cosmic and gamma rays, astrophysical neutrinos, and for monitoring space-weather phenomena and lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere–magnetosphere couplings. Two complementary payloads are on board: Terzina, an optical Cherenkov telescope for extensive air showers, and Ziré, a particle detector covering an energy range from a few MeV up to hundreds. To extend Ziré’s sensitivity to lower energies, the Low-Energy Module (LEM) has been developed.The LEM is a compact (10 (Formula presented) 10 (Formula presented) 10 cm3) particle spectrometer capable of measuring electrons from 0.1 to 7 MeV and protons from 3 to 50 MeV along the satellite orbit. A drilled plastic scintillator acts as an active collimator, vetoing off-axis tracks, while five silicon spectrometers, completed by a plastic calorimeter and lateral veto, provide event-by-event identification. This layout yields an angular resolution of about (Formula presented) for protons and an electron threshold below 30 keV, enabling operations in high-radiation regions such as the South Atlantic Anomaly and the inner Van Allen belt.By tracking variations in trapped-particle fluxes the LEM will investigate precipitation episodes linked to geomagnetic storms, solar flares, thunderstorms, and possible seismic precursors, thus contributing both to space-weather forecasting and to the validation of particle-acceleration and models of Magnetospheric–Ionospheric–Lithospheric Coupling. Preliminary simulations and laboratory tests confirm the feasibility of the design and its expected performance.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
